Denk Mal an den Bauernkrieg – OÖ 1626: My Story, Your Story, Our Story?

OÖ 1626 – A Contested Heritage

The Upper Austrian Peasants' War of 1626 arose from tensions that had been building for years: foreign political rule, economic burdens, and conflicts over faith. Even before that, the Frankenburg Trial by Military Justice of 1625 had condensed these experiences into an event that etched itself deeply into collective memory. The consequences of the war reached far beyond military defeat. Repression, religious pressure, and emigration shaped entire generations – and later became an important element of regional and Protestant remembrance and identity.

How the Peasants' War has been remembered, however, has continually shifted: sometimes as an illegitimate uprising, sometimes as a struggle against foreign rule, sometimes as a testimony of faith, later also as a socially revolutionary liberation fight, as a national-religious popular uprising, or as a warning for tolerance and against violence. The diverse memorial sites across Upper Austria alone show that history is not a fixed possession but the result of negotiation. Different political and confessional groups reinterpreted the events and used them for their own present – right up to today.

Our event series invites you to bring these multi-layered interpretations into conversation with one another – openly, controversially, with respectful listening, and guided by the central question: OÖ 1626: My Story, Your Story, Our Story?

Following a few short lectures, these ideas will be discussed among the audience and reflected upon together. Musical entertainment as well as food and drinks will be provided.